Plants may absorb more carbon dioxide than previously thought

4 May 2012

The capacity of terrestrial ecosystems to absorb carbon dioxide emissions from human activity may be greater than previously thought, according to a new study involving Imperial and University of York scientists, which was published in March in Nature Climate Change. The authors say these results improve our ability to predict the magnitude of climate change before it happens.

The scientists were investigating how changes in temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, such as those predicted under the effects of global climate change, affect soil respiration and a plant’s rate of growth, photosynthesis and respiration.

The research addresses a key question in environmental science about whether an increase in global temperatures will cause an increase or a decrease in the ability of ecosystems to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The results of the study suggest that with the help of plants, the Earth’s terrestrial ecosystems may well have more capacity to buffer against ‘runaway’ climate change than previously thought.

The scientists grew plants in sealed experimental cabinets, providing them with soil, light, water, and a controlled atmosphere that mimicked possible future temperatures and levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Over several months they measured how well the plants absorb carbon dioxide under these changing environmental conditions.

Research author Dr Alex Milcu (Life Sciences) said: “We are really improving our understanding of how plants react to global environmental changes, but a discrepancy exists between our results, those from ‘open’ unsealed experiments, and data from the best computer simulations. Right now, the best way to improve these simulations is through more experimental work to understand the way that carbon cycles between soil, vegetation and the atmosphere.”

— Simon Levey, Communications and Development

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